And I’m afraid that, after the primaries — affable and intelligent as the man seems on Letterman — I have no reason to trust or respect him, or — after the shameful performance of the 2006 Congress — the Democrat Party.

I’m not going to link to Sully’s series of arguments that Sarah Palin’s son, Trig, is OMGBBQ! actually her daughter’s child, partially because he’s written nineteen or so goddamned posts on the subject already and I don’t feel like finding them all. All I want to say is that the straw grasping, goalpost shifting, and dismissal of contradictory evidence that characterize Sullivan’s post remind me of one thing and one thing only: Texas Darlin’s neverending quest to prove that Barack Obama is a Muslim/forged his birth certificate/is a dirty n***er.

Congrats, Andy, you’re no better than a racist PUMA blogger.

[Yeah, I’m also not linking to Texas Darlin or No Quarter. They can go fuck themselves.]

I’d like to take slight issue with Shakesville’s William K. Wolfrum, namely that his contention about Hillary Clinton voters skeptical of Barack Obama:

Because at a dedicated progressive and feminist blog where numerous voices and perspectives are presented, I find the accusation that individuals that have not leaped aboard the Barack Obama bandwagon are doing so out of spite to be spiteful in their own way.

And of course this is true…partially. Every Obama skeptic is not a PUMA, nor are all Obama skeptics motivated out of spite. It’s perilous enough to start assigning motives to people whatever their opinion may be, and it’s a weak argumentative tactic, bordering on the ad hominem.

Still, I read this from Riverdaughter and start to think the spite charge has merit, at least in some instances:

She’s anti-choice.Truth: We know what she is but if Obamaphiles insist on calling us post-menopausal, dried up pussies, you shouldn’t be surprised if we are suddenly unsympathetic towards young female Obamaphiles who find themselves unintentionally pregnant. Some of us fought those battles in the 60’s. Some of us took advantage of the battles won in the 70’s and 80’s. Some of us continue to fight in the 90’s and 00’s. But we’re not your parents who are responsible for getting you out of every scrape. YOU are responsible for your own fate. If you don’t like the anti-choice leanings of your next president and vice president, work your ass off for downticket Dems so Republicans can’t ram through any more anti-choice legislation. You’re old enough. Do it yourself. Besides, you female Obamaphiles had a choice in Hillary Clinton who was committed to prtecting your reproductive freedom. Instead, you picked a man who is actively courting evangelical voters and watering down the pro-choice section of the Democratic platform. And you have the nerve to call US dumb?

Riverdaughter feels that women who voted for Obama deserve to have unwanted pregnancies without the option of abortion. Revenge against those who had the temerity to disagree with her is more important to her than political principles she claims to champion. I don’t know how you can describe this as anything other than spiteful.

We defend Sarah Palin against misogynist smears not because we endorse her or her politics, but because that’s how feminism works.

So while McEwan upholds her principles, even to protect a political adversary, Riverdaughter would throw hers under the bus if it would adversely affect an Obama-supporting woman. Not all Obama skeptics are PUMAs, nor are all Obama skeptics acting out of spite. Some obviously are, however, and it’s not a lie to say as much.